Another
reverse was quick in coming, for the cession to France in 1795 and the
revolt of the negroes in French Saint-Domingue drove away the best
inhabitants. In 1801 Toussaint l'Ouverture took possession of the city
and in 1805 it was successfully held by the French against the siege
of the negro emperor Dessalines. This siege was the beginning of a
series lasting for a century. In 1809 after a desperate struggle the
city was recaptured for Spain by the Dominicans, but from 1822 to 1844
it was in the hands of the Haitians, and abandoned by all the whites
who could flee. Since the declaration of Dominican independence in
1844 almost every revolution has involved a siege of the capital.
Within the last twenty-five years the city has made rapid strides
forward and spread far beyond the old city walls.
To the stranger Santo Domingo is by far the most interesting city of
the Republic, on account of its stirring history and its venerable
monuments of the past. Unfortunately the relics of the early days have
met with scant respect from later generations, and ruins which would
be the pride of other cities have been wantonly demolished.
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